The pillar shape forms when a particularly dense area of gas and dust shields
the material behind it from the blistering radiation and strong winds released
by hot, massive, blue stars in a young star cluster. This protected material
becomes the pillars where stars can form and grow. The Hubble telescope first
spied these pillars of stellar creation when it captured close-up views of
the Eagle Nebula.

Hubble’s more recent image of 30 Doradus shows numerous pillars
— each several light-years long — oriented toward the central
star cluster. These pillars, which resemble tiny fingers, are similar in size
to those in the Eagle Nebula.

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